The match will be played in front of a sold-out crowd that has been capped by Covid restrictions.

The winner of UEFA Group A will earn automatic qualification to the next Women’s World Cup while the team that finishes in second will enter into the play-offs if they are one of the three best runner-ups among all nine UEFA groups.

Ireland ended a seven-game losing streak in their most recent outing, beating Australia 3-2 in front of fans in Tallaght and will hope for a repeat of fortunes on Thursday evening.

Four of the six teams they faced in that dismal run currently occupy a place in the top 20 of FIFA’s World rankings.

Vera Pauw’s side will play their first game in the group stages of the FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and are the only side yet to play a game.

The Republic of Ireland were meant to have played Georgia in their opening Group A game last month but that was rescheduled until June 2022.

Sweden, on the other hand, sit first in the group with two wins from two against Georgia and Slovakia and are yet to concede.

The World number two national team will hope to earn their place at the upcoming World Cup and improve upon their third-place finish in 2019 and continue the form that earned them a silver medal at Tokyo 2020.

Ireland have never played at a World Cup and sit 33rd in the world, eight places behind Finland who are also in their group.

Captain Caroline Seger scored a brace in the Blue and Yellow’s last match, a 4-0 win over Georgia, and leads the way on the scoring charts in the group.

Three other goalscorers have found the net for the Swedes in the competition so far and Peter Gerhardsson’s team will be sure to give the Irish defence a headache.

“The target for us is to qualify,” Vera Pauw noted. “We fully understand how difficult our group is with four tough opponents in Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Georgia.

“But we must believe in ourselves, work as hard as we can, and show the world that we are ready for this.

“Sweden are a fantastic team. They finished as runners-up in the Tokyo Olympics and are ranked second in the world.

“We know all about their quality but it is up to us – as a team collectively – to embrace this challenge. We hope that playing in front of our fantastic fans will also help us.

“I’ve said it so many times and every time I feel it in my bones: the Irish fans are really special!

“There is no doubt that they help to drive the team on during difficult periods and inspire them to keep working hard.

“It definitely had an impact in our win over Australia and I hope to experience the same again in front of a sold-out crowd.”

Teams

Republic of Ireland: Brosnan; Finn, Fahey, L. Quinn, McCarthy, O’Gorman; L.J. Quinn, O’Sullivan, Connolly, McCabe; Payne.

Subs: Walsh, Scott, Caldwell, Kiernan, Barrett, Maloney, Farrelly, Grant, Noonan, Clancy, McLaughlin, Badana.

Sweden: Lindahl; Glas, Ilestedt, Eriksson, Andersson; Bennison, Rolfo, Angeldal; Jakobsen, Blackstenius, Hurtig.

Subs: Kullberg, Fischer, Janogy, Rytting Kaneryd, Falk, Blomqvist, Olme, Curmark, Anvegard, Musovic, Schough, Rubensson.

Where To Watch

The game will kick-off at 7 pm and will be available to watch live on RTÉ 2, with coverage starting at 6:30 pm.

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Arsenal finally got some good news at the weekend after beating bottom place Norwich but now there is more bad news for the club.

After finishing in eighth place in the league last season, Mikel Arteta’s team failed to qualify for any European competition. This was the first time this had happened since Arsene Wenger took the job over 25 years ago.

They were only one point behind their North London rivals Tottenham who finished in seventh and qualified for the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League.

Although this competition is not at the very highest standard, it will be enough for them to overtake Arsenal in the UEFA Rankings.

Welcome to The Arsenal family, Takehiro #ARSNOR pic.twitter.com/Yyx3iGP8I9

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 11, 2021

The Gunners are currently ranked in 12th place on this list. The places are based on European results in the last five years. Arsenal have a score of 80 points and will not be able to improve that this season.

Spurs were only two points behind their enemy but after the Europa Conference League begins, they will be boosted to 80.5 points. If they manage to progress far in this competition they could open up a large gap on Arsenal that could take years to resolve.

This shift in power is expected since the London Reds have not played in the Champions League since the 2016/2017 campaign. This is while Tottenham lost out in the final against Liverpool three years ago.

Neither side is still close to the top five teams which are made up of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool, Barcelona, and Chelsea in that order. Real Madrid are in sixth place while a reemerging Manchester United are in eighth place.

𝙎𝙞𝙭 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮…

Sonny made his Spurs debut! pic.twitter.com/pHcUXkLIvW

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 13, 2021

This adds to what has already been a terrible year for Arsenal fans. After losing their opening three games, maybe their win will over Norwich will start them afresh.

Otherwise, the Gunners’ faithful will spend another year not celebrating St Totteringham’s day.

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Away fans were previously not permitted to attend fixtures in the qualifying rounds, including the play-off round.

In a statement by the FSE, the news was confirmed and is subject to local restrictions.

The FSE is an independent, democratic, & non-profit association of football fans and has members in over 45 UEFA nations.

The statement reads: “CONFIRMED: Return of away fans at UEFA club competitions.

“FSE can confirm that away fans will be permitted to attend European club competitions matches from next week. (local restrictions & travel requirement might still apply).”

The group had previously lobbied for away fans to be permitted to attend fixtures ahead of the 2021/22 season.

In their previous statement, the organisation said: “Football Supporters Europe (FSE) is opposed to a blanket ban on away fans at UEFA club and national team competition fixtures.

“International travel is currently permitted for many citizens in the UEFA region. Football fans should not be subject to specific exclusions, which amount to a form of unequal treatment.

“This view is shared by a number of clubs and other stakeholders.”

They used Dutch fans as an example after quoting AFC Ajax Chief Executive Edwin Van Der Sar.

“As things stand, however, a group of Dutch fans, for example, can visit France, go to a cinema, music festival, and sporting event together, but still be barred from attending their own club’s match in a stadium that is filled with home fans.

“FSE therefore believes that guidelines on away fans should be decided on a case-by-case basis in line with the local public health situation and advice of the relevant public authorities—which the overwhelming majority of fans have respected throughout the pandemic and fully understand are liable to change.

“We have communicated this position to UEFA and asked for a timely re-evaluation of its existing policy before the fixture list is announced so that fans have ample opportunity to make any travel-related decisions.”

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It was the national side’s first knockout win over the Germans in a major tournament since their 1966 World Cup win.

The two sides went head-to-head in front of 45,000 England fans in their national stadium.

To clarify, England were the only side with home advantage in the last 16.

Both sides set up in 3-4-3 formations with the Germans opting for an attacking variant of the formation and Gareth Southgate choosing to set his side up in the opposite.

However, Southgate’s plan worked quite well as wing-backs Trippier and Shaw locked down the ever-so-dangerous duo of Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens.

The first half was a tense, cagey affair with both sides having the ability to attack but not the ability to finish.

Timo Werner missed a golden opportunity to put his country in the lead but Harry Kane outdid his miss, failing to convert from inside the six-yard box.

Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels was the reason he could not, putting in a fantastic last-ditch tackle to keep the side’s level and scoreless at the break.

Mats. Maschine. Mega. pic.twitter.com/kscfXM5A2p

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) June 29, 2021

Germany dominated possession for much of the second half but failed to fashion a quality chance.

Southgate’s defensive structure irritated the German’s with seven defensive-minded outfield players on the pitch for England.

Jack Grealish was brought on for Bukayo Saka in the 69th minute and suddenly England were able to threaten the German back three.

It must be said that Saka’s energy for those 69 minutes helped the situation as he tired defenders out with his pace.

The Matthias Ginter – Mats Hummels axis was exposed by Grealish, who worked well with Kane and Shaw to stretch them while Raheem Sterling ran into space to slot home the opener in the 75th minute.

Sterling’s ability to get in behind defenders with ease has led to all three of his goals in the competition so far.

His tendency to receive the ball from deep and dribble inside started the move he finished off.

Chelsea wonderboy Kai Havertz put Thomas Muller through in a quick counter-attack just minutes later but the Bayern star put his shot wide.

Shaw and Grealish were involved in the killer blow for Germany after Muller’s miss, with Shaw finding Grealish in the position the wing-back was in earlier and the Villa star finding Kane who headed the ball in.

Ginter’s positioning for both goals was abysmal and he gave too much space to the goalscorers.

Germany failed to break through the English defences and reply to the two unanswered goals, ending their Euro 2020 run as it began – with a timid loss.

The curtains have closed on Joachim Low’s Germany reign after the exit.

In contrast, Southgate and his men march on with an increased chance of going all the way after their performance.

England will face Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, July 3rd at 20:00.

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Andriy Shevchenko’s side came into the game as the underdogs in the eyes of the bookies but sustained early pressure led to an opener courtesy of City left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko.

A sumptuous ball from forward Andriy Yarmolenko put it on a plate for the 24-year-old, who volleyed it beyond Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

Seb Larsson almost caught out Ukraine’s keeper Heorhiy Bushchan with a quick free-kick but the Ukrainian saved his blushes.

A few minutes before half-time, Alexander Isak laid the ball off for Sweden’s top scorer at Euro 2020, Emil Forsberg, who fired home from 25 yards out.

The Swede’s goal brought his tally for the tournament up to four, one behind current top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and the Swedish single major tournament record holder Kennet Andersson.

3 – Emil Forsberg is the first Swedish player to score in three consecutive major tournament appearances since Kennet Andersson at the 1994 World Cup, who is also the only Swedish player to net more at a single major tournament than Forsberg's 4 at #EURO2020 (5 in 1994). Streak. pic.twitter.com/g9qA4l0n0b

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 29, 2021

Sweden showed their quality in the second half, dominating the game and coming close to finding a winner several times.

Forsberg hit the woodwork twice while Juventus prospect Dejan Kulusevski forced a save from Bushchan and could not convert a late chance.

The final last 16 tie of Euro 2020 became the fourth to go to extra time – the most-ever in a single knockout round in the competition.

Extra-time saw things change for the worse for the Scandinavians when their centre-back Marcus Danielson saw red for a reckless studs-up tackle.

It was the Swede’s first red card of his international career – a yellow was given at first before a VAR review changed referee Daniele Orsato’s mind.

Ukraine’s man-advantage helped them to gain momentum and retain possession throughout extra time.

Atalanta’s Ruslan Malinovskyi came close to scoring but scuffed his shot wide.

As the clock ticked and the full-time whistle for the end of extra-time drew near, penalties appeared to be the most likely option.

However, a stunning cross from Zinchenko found the head of Artem Dovbyk who headed in the winner in the dying moments of the game to make history for Ukraine.

121 – Timed at 120:37, Artem Dovbyk has scored the second-latest goal in European Championship history, behind Semih Sentürk v Croatia in 2008 (121:01), and the latest match-winning strike in the competition, overtaking Michel Platini v Portugal in 1984 (118:53). Gasp. #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/LAXcVAAvxw

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 29, 2021

Andriy Shevchenko’s side will be the first Ukraine side in the last eight of the European Championships, having become the first to reach the last 16 after their successful group stage.

Sweden failed to deliver on the promise of their Group E win and will go home without the chance to get revenge on England for their 2018 World Cup quarter-final loss.

Ukraine will play England on Saturday, July 3rd at the Stadio Olimpico at 8:00 pm.

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The two sides had flattered to deceive in their group games until they both earned convincing wins in their final matches to earn progression.

Both sides’ faults were clear throughout the game, but so were their strengths.

Pedri’s own goal was a horrible outlier in an otherwise fantastic debut international knockout game performance for the Barcelona starlet.

His 49-yard mistake is the longest-ever own goal in the European Championships and the first own-goal to be scored outside of the box.

However, Pedri and his side recovered to march into a 3-1 lead deep into the second half.

Pedri has completed 21/22 passes in the 1st half whilst creating a big chance for Koke & then helping orchestrate the Spain equaliser. 18 years old – this kid is special.

— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) June 28, 2021

The Croatian defence struggled to contain Luis Enrique’s Spanish side, who are known for creating chances.

Cesar Azpilicueta became Spain’s oldest goalscorer at the competition while Ferran Torres became the youngest to score and assist at a major tournament for Spain since Cesc Fabregas v Russia at Euro 2008.

Dinamo Zagreb star and slayer of Tottenham Hotspur had something to say in reply.

The 28-year-old netted his side’s second after a desperate scramble in the Spain box and assisted their injury-time equaliser, a Mario Pasalic header.

Pasalic became the fifth Atalanta player to score at Euro 2020, with the club becoming only the fourth to reach that achievement.

Enrique’s failure to utilise players on his bench with the ability to help close games out (Marcos Llorente and Thiago Alcantara) cost him.

Dani Olmo is the first player to assist 2+ goals in a knockout game at #EURO2020.

He did it in the space of just three extra-time minutes too. pic.twitter.com/tjhn5CVChx

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 28, 2021

However, his decision to bring on Dani Olmo put the game back in the hands of the Spaniards as the RB Leipzig star crafted two excellent goals to kill the game in extra time.

As well as Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini, Julian Nagelsmann can take pride in Euro 2020.

Patrik Schick has been on fire in the competition and Dani Olmo’s performance adds to the list of Leipzig players with good performances at the competition.

The game is the second-highest-scoring match in the history of the competition, after France 5-4 Yugoslavia in 1960.

Spain also became the first side to score five goals in consecutive matches at the competition, after beating Slovakia 5-0 last Wednesday.

They march on to the quarter-finals, where a date with hard-working Switzerland awaits.

Switzerland v Spain kicks off at 5 pm on Friday, July 2nd.

The post Euro 2020: La Roja Run Rampant In Eight-Goal Thriller appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The Swiss started off the better of the two sides with their crossing proving to be a big threat against France’s back three.

The side went ahead after Haris Seferovic headed the ball into the France net just 15 minutes into the game.

France centre-back Clement Lenglet was caught out, ducking while Seferovic leapt to connect with wing-back Steven Zuber’s cross.

Clement Lenglet was the only player in Europe's top 5 leagues last season to be sent off, score an own goal, make an error leading to an opposition goal and concede a penalty

Probably not the player to bring in to your side for the knockout stage of #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/1JReFy9y2E

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) June 28, 2021

France’s 3-4-3 confused the players who were unsure of what to do in the new system and they reverted to a back four after 35 minutes.

Lenglet was replaced by Kingsley Coman at half-time and the substitution swung the game in the favour of Les Bleus.

Coman’s presence meant there was an extra man in the French attack and the move stretched the Swiss backline.

Two goals from Karim Benzema on either side of a missed Swiss penalty put France into the driver’s seat and put Benzema on four goals in the tournament.

Hugo Lloris’ penalty save was his first for France since 2012.

Paul Pogba turned on the style with some effortless passing in the pocket, akin to a quarterback.

France’s Tom Brady scored the third goal for France to put the game beyond doubt, at least at that moment in time.

However, N’Golo Kanté’s performance as a sole defensive midfielder was a no-show and the middle of the park saw the creation of many dangerous attacks.

Switzerland fought their way back into the game.

Granit Xhaka, who has been impressive alongside Remo Freuler in the tournament, turned it up a notch and started putting on a passing clinic of his own.

Absolute masterclass of line-breaking passing from Pogba & Xhaka

— Premier League Panel (@PremLeaguePanel) June 28, 2021

Seferovic nodded a second header home with Raphael Varane to blame this time as he let the Benfica goalscorer get in front of him.

Xhaka’s fantastic vision saw Mario Gavranovic add a brilliant 90th-minute equaliser after having a goal ruled out for offside just minutes before.

Xhaka could have assisted a winner moments later when Admir Mehmedi was played in but the striker’s touch let him down.

Extra-time came and went with both sides going close but failing to find a winner.

Switzerland penalties were flawless with Mehmedi converting the fifth and final one, righting his wrong from regular time.

Kylian Mbappé missed the deciding spot-kick, capping off a frustrating and underwhelming tournament for Didier Deschamp’s men.

Vladimir Petkovic’s side were understandably elated after Yann Sommer’s save – they reached the quarter-final of a major tournament for the first time since the 1954 World Cup when they beat Italy 4-1 in a playoff as they finished the group on the same points.

It is unlikely that their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Spain will reproduce the same goalscoring numbers as last night (or even their 1954 World Cup quarter-final against Austria, a 7-5 loss that lasted 90 minutes.)

However, it will be history for this Swiss side, who have just made the world take notice.

Switzerland v Spain kicks off at 5 pm on Friday.

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Oranje Crush: Czechs Kick Netherlands Out

The Czech Republic won the five o’clock kick-off, upsetting Frank de Boer’s Netherlands in the process.

Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt was shown a red card for deliberately handling the ball in the fifty-fifth minute.

De Ligt pinned all the blame on himself pic.twitter.com/NtjqCsapSI

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 27, 2021

The Netherlands had dominated the first but had nothing to show for it and the momentum swung in the second half.

Slavia Prague right-back Tomas Holes scored the opening goal in the sixty-eighth minute to give his country the advantage over the 10-man Netherlands.

Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg came off his line and left it open for Holes to put his side ahead.

Frank de Boer’s selections and substitutions proved ineffective in the Netherlands’ first European Championship knockout game since 2008.

Tournament star Patrik Schick finished off the helpless Dutch with the second of the game and his fourth of the tournament coming in the 80th minute.

The Czech Republic will face Denmark in the quarter-finals on Saturday at 5 pm.

Belgium Down Portugal To Keep Euro 2020 Hopes Alive

Later on, the Belgians beat reigning European champions Portugal to earn themselves a date with Italy.

A Thorgan Hazard wondergoal lit up an otherwise dull first half and forced the Portuguese to attack Roberto Martinez’s side in the second half.

Fernando Santos’ selection of Renato Sanches and Joao Palhinha did not pay off as the Portuguese side failed to break down the Belgians.

Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to score his 110th international goal against Belgium, which would have put him out on his own in the all-time international scoring charts.

Belgium (0.23) 1-0 (1.56) Portugal

— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) June 27, 2021

Santos’ side failed to take advantage of the opportunities they had, registering 1.53 expected goals on the night without finding the net.

The 101-year-old defence of Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld kept a clean sheet and helped their side progress to the quarter-finals.

Belgium will play Italy in their quarter-final on Friday at 5 pm.

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UEFA have fined Dundalk €50,000 ahead of their penultimate group stage game against Molde on Thursday. The Lilywhites’ struggle during the Europa League campaign is signified by their position in the group. Currently sitting bottom of the pile with zero points in the lead up to the Molde clash.

And things have gone from bad to worse this week for the Irish side after UEFA issued a fine for “shadow coaching”. Head coach Filippo Giovanogli is prohibited from managing his side from the sideline as he does not have the required coaching qualifications. Despite this rule, Giovanogli’s presence on the touchline has been evident and last week UEFA acted upon the ruling by sending the Italian to the stands for the game against Rapid Vienna.

Dundalk’s opposition analyst, Shane Keegan, will continue to fill in as manager for the remaining European fixtures.

Molde vs Dundalk

Dundalk travel to Norway to take on Molde on Thursday evening. The Norwegian side sit in second place behind Arsenal, with six points. Hopes of qualification to the knockout stages are all but gone for Giovanogli’s men. Although mathematically there is still a possibility for progression, Dundalk’s goal difference leaves them with a mountain to climb. Arsenal, with four wins from four, travel to the Aviva Stadium in the final group game next week.

You can watch Molde vs Dundalk on Virgin Media Sport on Thursday, with coverage starting from 7.30pm.

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In Pot 3 with the Irish sides are Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Norway, Iceland, Scotland, Greece and Finland.

Belgium are the confirmed top seeds for the draw in Zurich on 7 December 2020 and will be in Pot 1. France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands are also in the top pot.

Wales, who recently played the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League competition, are in Pot 2. Alongside them are Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia and Romania.

Fifty-five teams will be divided into five groups of five and five groups of six.

The qualifiers will be played on a home and away basis between March and November 2021.

Pots 1-6

1: Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands.

2: Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania.

3: Russia, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Finland.

4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg.

5: Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Andorra.

6: Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, San Marino.

The Qualification Process

The winners of the 10 UEFA qualifying groups will qualify automatically for the finals in Qatar.

Another three places will be fought out between the 10 group runners-up and the two highest-ranked teams from the Nations League who have not already qualified or finished in a runners-up spot.

The 12 teams will be divided into three play-off paths, each featuring four countries, to determine the final three European places for Qatar.

Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup during November and December of 2022.

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